7 CFR 247.16 - Certification period.

Status message

(a)How long is the certification period? (1) Women, infants, and children. For women, infants, and children, the State agency must establish certification periods that may not exceed 6 months in length. However, pregnant women may be certified to participate for the duration of their pregnancy and for up to six weeks post-partum.

(i) The person's address and continued interest in receiving program benefits are verified; and

(ii) The local agency has sufficient reason to believe that the person still meets the income eligibility standards (e.g., the elderly person has a fixed income).

(b)On what day of the final month does the certification period end? The certification period extends to the final day of the month in which eligibility expires (e.g., the last day of the month in which a child reaches his or her sixth birthday).

(c)Does the certification period end when a participant moves from the local area in which he or she was receiving benefits? No. The State agency must ensure that local agencies serve a CSFP participant, or WIC participant (if also eligible for CSFP), who moves from another area to an area served by CSFP, and whose certification period has not expired. The participant must be given the opportunity to continue to receive CSFP benefits for the duration of the certification period. If the local agency has a waiting list, the participant must be placed on its waiting list ahead of all other waiting applicants. The local agency that determined the participant's eligibility must provide verification of the expiration date of the certification period to the participant upon request.

(d)What must the local agency do to ensure that participants are aware of the expiration of the certification period? The local agency must notify program participants in writing at least 15 days before the expiration date that eligibility for the program is about to expire. The local agency must include a statement in the written notification that informs the applicant that program standards are applied without discrimination by race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0584-0293)

Effective Date: This rule will become effective on August 8, 2014, without further notice.

7 CFR Part 247

Summary

This final rule amends the regulations for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to phase out the eligibility of women, infants, and children, in accordance with the amendments made by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill). Under amendments made to the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 by Section 4102 of the 2014 Farm Bill, women, infants, and children who apply to participate in CSFP on February 7, 2014, or later cannot be certified to participate in the program. Under these amendments the population served by CSFP will only be low-income elderly persons at least 60 years of age. However, Section 4102 also included amendments for a phase-out provision, which requires State and local agencies to continue providing assistance to all women, infants, and children who were certified and receiving CSFP benefits as of February 6, 2014. Those individuals can continue to receive assistance until they are no longer eligible under the program rules in effect on February 6, 2014.

This is a list of United States Code sections, Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents, which provide rulemaking authority for this CFR Part.

Effective Date: This rule will become effective on August 8, 2014, without further notice.

7 CFR Part 247

Summary

This final rule amends the regulations for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to phase out the eligibility of women, infants, and children, in accordance with the amendments made by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill). Under amendments made to the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 by Section 4102 of the 2014 Farm Bill, women, infants, and children who apply to participate in CSFP on February 7, 2014, or later cannot be certified to participate in the program. Under these amendments the population served by CSFP will only be low-income elderly persons at least 60 years of age. However, Section 4102 also included amendments for a phase-out provision, which requires State and local agencies to continue providing assistance to all women, infants, and children who were certified and receiving CSFP benefits as of February 6, 2014. Those individuals can continue to receive assistance until they are no longer eligible under the program rules in effect on February 6, 2014.